Chapter 8 - The Double-Cross Reversal"SURPRISE, YOU BASTARD!" Vittorio roared, racking the shotgun pump with a satisfying clack-chack.
Before Julian’s mercenaries could pivot to face the new threat, buckshot tore through the air, shattering the legs of the two closest guards and sending them crashing to the ground.
Confusion erupted. Gunfire shattered the acoustics of the silo as bullets ricocheted off concrete and steel.
Julian tried to drag Clara backward into the shadows, screaming for his men to return fire. But Marcus and Luca opened up from the catwalks above, raining suppression fire down with surgical precision.
I sprinted across the open floor, my boots splashing through the puddles.
Julian raised his pistol to shoot me, but I didn't hesitate. I squeezed the trigger twice.
Bang. Bang.
The first round caught Julian square in the right shoulder, spinning him around. The second round shattered his weapon, sending the pistol flying from his bloody hand.
He collapsed against the wooden chair, gasping for air, clutching his shattered shoulder as blood poured rapidly between his fingers.
I walked up slowly, standing over him, the barrel of my Sig Sauer pointing straight down at his nose.
Julian looked up at me, coughing up a spray of crimson, his eyes wide with desperate terror. "Dante... wait... we're brothers... we can share—"
"We were never brothers, Julian," I said coldly.
I kicked his legs out from under him, sending him sprawling into the mud. Then I turned my attention to Clara, quickly pulling a tactical knife from my belt and slicing through the heavy nylon zip-ties binding her wrists and ankles.
Clara tumbled forward into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You're safe," I whispered, holding her steady. "Your daughter is waiting for you at Café Nate. She gave me her puppy to pay for your life."
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Clara looked up at me, tears streaming down her pale face, her voice trembling. "You... you actually went back for her?"
"In my world, currency is cheap," I said, glancing back at Julian, who was being zip-tied by Marcus and Vittorio. "But a little girl's trust? That's something you can't put a price on."
